Training Day 91

We ran 10 miles this morning before 7:00 a.m.! And get this...it actually felt great!!

The past few weeks have been very difficult. Besides the temperature reaching 100 degrees everyday, life has been hectic. Steve started a new job about a month ago, only a few weeks before the primaries (which were last Tuesday and I hope you all voted!). He has been getting used to the new job and traveling all over the place. I just finished an intense semester of summer school and have been trying to work while managing everything that life has thrown my way lately.

Last week we had to do 14 miles and I want to share that experience just in case anyone who is reading this is experiencing the same level of frustration. There is hope!

We were running at the reservoir and started at 5:30 a.m. This was really the first week the extreme heat kicked in and the humidity had to be at 110%. I had exams the two days before and I had not slept more than 4 hours a night the whole week. I was already in a bad mood when we started and I knew it wasn't going to go well. Steve was running slow for me - but his slow running is still faster than my average pace. At the end of mile 1, I was already having trouble breathing. By mile 2, I was absolutely exhausted and I started crying. I realized that crying was wasting my fluids and probably taking extra energy so I gave myself the "Suck it up, Tew" speech that Stephen Horn and JR Love used to give me in college when things were difficult. That kept me going for another mile. At mile 3, I saw Stephanie McDaniel, an old friend from Colonial Heights who is also training for the marathon. She said, "Hey Lindsey! How is it going today?" which was all it took to trigger the tears again. But she gave me some encouragement that got me through the next mile.

I came to screeching halt at mile 4 and told Steve to leave me, I was going home. So Steve trotted off and stood there contemplating what to do next. I was SO mad at myself. I knew I would be so disappointed if I didn't keep trying so I started walking again toward the next water stop. About that time Trey Bourne, our run coach, came along side me and asked if I was okay. I told him I was exhausted and frustrated and I wanted to go home. He was very helpful and understanding and tried to convince to not beat myself up about it. He said if I went home, I would have gone 8 miles and that's still a good run. Once Trey said it was okay to go home, I didn't want to anymore! I already knew I could go 8 miles, I needed to know I could do 14. Plus, I knew if I didn't make the 14 miles, then the next long run would be even harder. I walked a little farther and refueled at the water stop. At that point I decided that I would go all 14 miles even if I had to walk the whole way and it took all day (and I thought that it might).

Once I decided that quitting was not an option, I felt better immediately. I did okay for several miles after that and it wasn't until around mile 11 that I hit the infamous "Wall" again. By that time it was after 8:00 and very hot. I caught up with Kim Bourne, Trey's wife (those two are sent from heaven!) and we walked together for a while. It helped having someone to talk to so I could keep mind off of the heat and pain. At mile 12 I looked up and there was Steve. He was walking too. Actually, he was limping. His knee was killing him and he was pretty mad about it. I was glad to have an excuse to walk the rest of the way and we limped in together, complaining the whole way about how awful it was.

Needless to say, after that day I was discouraged. I started thinking I wouldn't be able to finish the marathon the 6 hour time limit. I could think of about 9 million things I would rather do than ever run in the heat again. So I moped for a day or two. But at some point last week, my attitude changed. Maybe it was because I caught up on my sleep, or maybe it was because school was over and I felt like I was getting a handle on my life again, maybe it was Joy's story (below), maybe I got used to the heat (no, that's not it), maybe it was all of the crying out to God I did last Saturday when I didn't think I could take another step. My short 4 mile runs last week went great and even the 10 mile run this morning was no problem. Even though I walked a lot, I made myself push through the most physically challenging thing I had ever done last Saturday, and now I know I can do anything as long as I want to do it.

So, as cheesy and cliché as it sounds, I just wanted to tell anyone out there who is having a hard time, that you can do it! I am NOT a runner, but I am doing it. Running is usually not easy and it is rarely fun, but I WANT to run a marathon, so I am going to do it, just because I know I can.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great week!